Summary

Poggio Bracciolini rode through the Germany countryside in 1417 heading to a monastery but not in search of holy books; he was on a historic mission. He was looking for antiquated manuscripts, perhaps four of five hundred years old that were still intact. But he was not interested in what was written in the old tomes. He wanted to the chance to trace the books written in the Latin language that he so adored back to the Roman Forum and the Senate House.

Had Poggio shared the reason for his quest, some would have thought he was involved in sorcery while others would have questioned his passion. He had served a pope and Roman pontiffs as a scriptor tasked with writing official documents for the papacy. He had advanced to the position of apostolic secretary to the Pope. He had access to the Pope...